Terence Tao

Professor Terence Chi Shen Tao is a Chinese-Australianmathematician who currently resides in the United States. In 2006, Tao won the Fields Medal for his work in number theory. Tao shared the award with three other mathematicians. He also won the FRS in 2007. He is known for his studies in harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, combinatorics, analytic number theory and representation theory. Tao teaches math at UCLA.

Ever since he was a young child he had shown great skills in mathematics and logic. His father claimed that at the age of 2, during a family gathering, the infant Tao taught a 5-year-old child mathematics and English. According to Smithsonian Online Magazine, Tao taught himself arithmetic by the age of two. When asked by his father how he knew numbers and letters, he said he learned them from "Sesame Street". Aside from English, Tao speaks fluent Cantonese, but does not write Chinese. He was promoted to a full professor at age 24. He currently lives with his wife and son in Los Angeles, California.